Boring apparatus with screw anchor



S p 1964 L. J. MATTINGLY ETAL BORING APPARATUS WITH SCREW ANCHOR FiledJan. 9. 1961 3 Shets-Sheet 1 Fig.4 1 k 28 Les/er J. Matting/y Walter WHappe INVENTOR 5 BY (WW9 Em P 15, 1964 J. MATTINGLY ETAL 3,148,739

BORING APPARATUS WITH SCREW ANCHOR Filed Jan. 9. 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Fig.5

Les/er J Muff/71gb Walter W Happe 1N VEN TORS- BY t 7.325%

Sept- 1 1964 1.. J. MATTINGLY ETAL 3,148,739

BORING APPARATUS WITH SCREW ANCHOR Filed Jan. 9 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A\.I I. m M

VAVWA United States Patent 3 148 73 BORING APPARATrJs vi'rr rr SCREWANCHOR Lester J. Mattingiy, 1625 Horseshoe Drive, Florissant, Mo, andWalter W. Happe, St. Louis, Mo; said Happe assignor to said MattinglyFiled Jan. 9, i961, Ser. No. 81,375 3 Claims. (Cl. 173-46) The presentinvention generally relates to earth anchors for use in anchoringvarious elements to the earth such as guy wires employed in holdingpoles in a vertical position and the present invention more particularlyrelates to an adapter so that an earth boring machine may be used toscrew the anchors into the ground.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a screw anchoradapter associated with an earth boring means so that the boring bar ofthe earth boring machine may be employed for screwing the screw anchorsinto the ground.

Generally, boring machines such as those dislosed in prior patents toSpowart 1,511,433 granted October 14, 1924, and Erdahl 1,921,812 grantedAugust 8, 1933, may be employed when carrying out the present inventionand it is the employment of such boring machines in placing the screwanchors which form the essence of the present invention. As exemplifiedby the boring machine shown in these patents, they embody generally aboring head which is swingably mounted upon a truck chassis or othersuitable vehicle body so that it may be adjusted angularly about thelongitudinal axis of the vehicle and also angularly about an axistransverse to the longitudinal axis. The boring head carries a boringbar which normally is provided with an auger at the lower end thereofwhich does the actual digging. The boring bar is supported in the boringhead for longitudinal movement to advance the auger and withdraw theauger in relation to the hole being bored in the earth and the boringbar is also supported and driven in such a manner to drive the auger inits boring action. The boring bar is housed by a guide tube whichextends upwardly from the head so that ordinarily during the boringoperation and advancing of the auger into the earth, it is not possibleto determine visually the extent of the boring action of the auger as itpenetrates the earth.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide the boringmachine with a depth indicator such as has been disclosed in priorPatent No. 2,607,834 issued to George H. Conners which will enable theoperator of the boring machine to be advised as to the extent of theearth penetrating movement of the boring bar of the machine so that hemay discontinue the placing of the screw anchor when the length of theanchor rod has been predetermined. Although this type of depth controlis proposed, the same results could be obtained by measuring the anchorrod, the standard length being 7 feet 2 inches, and a scribe may beplaced on the boring bar to indicate the earth penetration of theanchor.

The present invention also involves certain improvement upon a similartype of invention disclosed in prior Patent No. 2,569,528 granted toCharles W. Candle. Heretofore, it has been the practice to place screwanchors manually although there have been available vari ous power unitsthat could be employed for this purpose such as air motors, electricmotors or hydraulic motors. The primary object of the present inventionis based upon the principle of utilizing the power of earth boringmachine for screwing earth anchors into place and for unscrewing theearth anchors when desired and specifically provides an adapter forholding the anchor in place after the anchor rod is inserted into theboringbar of the boring machine and keeping the anchor rod in axialalignment with the boring bar at all times.

Another very important object of the present invention is to provide ascrew anchor adapter in accordance with the preceeding objectincorporating a novel structure for cleaning the boring bar after it hasbeen used to screw the earth anchors into the ground. When the boringbar is used to place the screw'anchors in the ground or dig a hole for apole, a considerable amount of earth becomes embedded in the teeth ofthe boring bar and continuous deposit of. earth and residue on theboring bar causes considerable damage and wear on the guide shaft thusrendering it important to maintain the boringbar as clean as possible.

Still another feature of the present invention resides in its simplicityof construction, ease of operation, efficiency and its relativelyinexpensive manufacturing cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to "the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer. to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE I is a side elevational view of the boring ie I machine with thescrew anchor and screw anchor adapter associated therewith;

therein;

FIGURES is a view of an earth anchor after it has been installed by theadapter of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the components of the earth anchor;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional View illustrating theconstruction of the present invention;

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;'

FIGURE 7 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line 77 of FIGURE 5; and I FIGURE 8 is atransverse sectional view taken substan tiallyupon a plane passingalongsection line 88 of FIGURE 5.

Referring now specifically to the drawings and especially FIGURES 1 and2, the vehicle broadly disclosed includes a supporting chassis on theframe generally designated by the numeral 10 and rear drivingwheels 12.Only the rear portion of the vehicle frame or chassis is illustratedsince the hole digging or boring mechanism is mounted thereon and isgenerally designated by reference numeral 14. The boring mechanismincludes a boring head16 sup ported by suitable mounts or supports 18.The boring head contains the drive gears by which the boring bar 20 isoperated. Theboring bar 20 is adapted to move downwardly and upwardly inthe tubular sleeves 22. The tubular guide 22 is pivotally attached tothe upper portion of the boring means 16 as is well known in the priorart mentioned previously and as the boring bar 20 is drawn in a downwarddirection rotation is imparted thereto by suitable gear mechanism withinthe boring head 16 all as readily understood by those versed in the artin conjunction with the machines'of the type illustrated in the patentsto Spowart and Erdhal mentioned hereinbefore.

The boring head is adapted to be turned or partially rotated about anaxis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the machine or chassis 10 ofthe vehicle in order that the auger 24 carried by the lower end of theboring bar 20 may be shifted outwardly and inwardly relative to itsvertical position. Also, the boring head 16 is capable of being rotatedto diiierent angles about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle or boringholes and to be used to place screw type anchors at lateral angles tothe earth and this adjustment is generally illustrated in FIGURE 2. Theforegoing is a conventional mode of adjusting the boring head with theadjustments being obtained by certain wellknown mechanisms disclosed inthe prior patents previously mentioned and forming no substantial partof the present invention.

The boring bar 20 which operates longitudinally within the guide tube 22is equipped with the usual guide head 26 on the upper end thereofwhichslides in contact with the inner wall of the tube 22 and preventsgripping of the boring bar 20 during its rotation and during itslongitudinal movement as the auger 24 is driven into the earth forproducing the hole which is to be excavated or for the placing of ascrew type anchor.

The screw anchor is generally designated by reference numeral 28 andincludes an elongated anchor rod 30 having a threaded upper end 32 forreceiving an eye member 34 and a lock nut 36 thereon for locking the eyein place thus enabling a guy wire to be attached to the anchor. The eye34 is in the form of a thimble eye nut.

.The lower end of the anchor rod 28 is provided with a collar 38therewith and the auger flight'24 is rigid with the collar 38 and tapersto a pointed end having a transverse tapered blade 40 thereon.

Mounted under the boring head 16 is a boring bar cleaning andlubricating mechanism generally designated by numeral 42 and whichincludes an annular felt oiler and wiper 44 and an annular cleaningbrush 46 mounted in annular grooves in a suitable support 48 attached tothe head 16 by fastener bolts 50.

The boring bar 20 is spirally threaded 0n the outer surface thereof andis provided with a longitudinal bore 52 extending longitudinally thereinfor receiving an elongated anchor rod 30. Disposed exteriorly on thelower .end of the boring bar 20 is a tubular adapter 54 having a collar56 at the upper end and a collar 58 at the lower end and having a spiralflight 60 in between the collars 56 and 58. The upper end of the tubularmember 54 is rigidly attached to the boring bar by a pin connection 62.The pin 62 is received in aligned opening 64 and 66 in the tubularsleeve 54 and the boring bar 20.

For retaining the boring bar and the screw anchor in assembled relation,the tubular sleeve 54 is provided with a plurality of spring fingers 68hingedly attached to the inner surface of the sleeve 54 by hinge pinsand having the free ends thereof extending inwardly and in slidingfrictional contact with the anchor rod 30. Coil compression springs 72extend between the free end of the fingers 68 and the inner surface ofthe sleeve 54 for urging the fingers into engagement with the anchor rod3tl. Any suitable means may be provided for retaining the springs '72 inposition such as a recess in the wall of the sleeve 54 in any suitableprojection on the fingers 68.

The cleaning brush 46 and the oiler and wiper 44 serve to clean theboring bar before it is retracted into the guide shaft or sleeve 22 andbefore it contacts the gearing mechanism thereby eliminating wear causedby dirt.

Assuming that a screw anchor 23 is to be placed in 4 when placing of thescrew anchor'has been completed. As will be readily apparent, theoperator during the process of moving the boring bar 20 upwardly and atthe same time rotating the boring bar, the cleaning action of thebrushes 46 will remove the earth from the boring bar 20 and the oilerwill wipe clean the boring bar 20 as it reenters the boring head andtubular guide.

The anchor adapter has very few parts and consists of the tubular member54 having a generally cylindrical configuration receiving the boring barand spaced concentrically from the anchor rod. The sleeve is reinforcedwith collars at each end thereof and has an auger flight on the outersurface which serves as a means for removing obstructions and to preparea pilot hole for the boring bar 20 in the process of placing ascrew-typeanchor. The upper end of the adapter sleeve 54 receives the boring bar20 and is held rigidly and firmly in place with the pin 62. The bottomend of the adapter sleeve 54 is equipped with the spring fingers 68.

The fingers 68 are adapted to receive the straight anchor rod 3t) whichare normally produced in standard sizes of A; of an inch, inch and 1inch in diameters and 7 feet 2 inches in length. The upper end of therod is screw threaded for receiving a lock nut and a thimble eyed nutand the bottom portion of the rod is provided with a square hub orcollar attached to a spiral screw flight 24 welded thereto at its lowerend.

The boring bar 20 has a longitudinal bore therein preferably 8 feet inlength and 1% inch in diameter for receiving the anchor rod 30.

In assembling a screw anchor with the adapter, it is necessary to removethe thimble eye 34 and the lock nut 36 and then insert the anchor rod 30upwardly into the sleeve 54 and into the longitudinal bore 52 in theboring bar 20. The square collar 38 is then brought into engagement withthe adapter sleeve 54 and held in place therein thus securing the boringbar 20, sleeve 54 and screw anchor rigidly together as far as rotationis concerned but enabling the screw anchor to be detached therefromafter the auger 24 has been anchored and the boring bar moved upwardlywhich will causethe spring fingers '68 toslide upwardly on the anchorrod 30 and become detached after which the lock nut 36 and thimble eyenut 34 maybe replaced on the anchor rod; With this construction, theanchor rod may be easily placed in the earth or removed therefromwhenever desired. If the machine is not equipped with the electricaldepth indicator, a scribe or mark may be placed on the boring bar sothat the operator may discontinue the placing operation when the screwanchor has been inserted to the desired depth. An electrical depthindicator may be provided so that the operator will discontinue theplacing operation at the predetermined depth.

The foregoing isconsidered as illustrative only of the i princples ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modification and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed,

I and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents the groundand that tubular guide 22 orientated generally horizontally, the boringbar cleaning mechanism is secured in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 5by bolting into place the supporting components for the cleaning andoiling mechanism and these components are secured to the bottom of theboring head 13.

and oil mechanism may be quickly and easily removed may be resorted to,falling within the scope of the invention as claimed; I

What is claimed as-new is as follows:

1. In combination with a hole boring machine comprising a boring head, aguide member extending from the boring head, and a boring bar operablein the guide member and projecting from the head during its boringoperation, a screw anchor adapter comprising a sleeve rigidly connectedto the boring bar in axial alignment therewith, and means on the sleevereleasably locking a screw anchor thereto for rotating said screw anchoruntil it is in anchored position and then enabling disengagement of theanchor from the adapter, said means on the adapter for connection withthe screw anchor including a polygonal socket for receiving a polygonalprojection on the anchor, and spring urged fingers carried by the sleeveengaging the anchor for frictionally retaining the anchor connected withthe adapter, said boring head including a boring bar cleaning brushengaging the periphery of the boring bar during the rotation andlongitudinal movement thereof, said boring head also including an oilingand wiping disk of felt material engaging the periphery of the boringbar during rotation and longitudinal movement thereof, said oiling diskbeing disposed between the cleaning brush and the boring head forengaging the boring bar after the boring bar has been cleaned by thebrush during the upward movement of said boring bar.

2. An adapter for converting a boring machine to a screw anchor placingmachine comprising an elongated tubular sleeve, means on the sleeve forrigidly connecting the sleeve to a boring bar, said sleeve having aspiral flight on the outer surface thereof for forming a pilot hole forthe anchor, said sleeve being hollow for receiving an elongated shank ofan anchor, polygonal socket means on the lower end of the sleeve fordetachable driving engagement with a screw anchor, and spring urgedfingers attached to the inner surface at the lower end of the'sleeve forfrictionally engaging an anchor shank thereby retaining the anchor inconnection with the sleeve.

3. In combination with a hole boring machine adapted for placing screwanchors in the ground comprising a boring head, a guide member extendingfrom the boring head, a boring bar operable in the guide member andprojecting from the boring head, said boring bar provided with alongitudinal bore extending longitudinally therein, and a removablesleeve rigidly connected at its upper end to the lower end of the boringbar projecting from the boring head and in axial alignment therewith, ascrew anchor comprising an elongated anchor rod freely slidable in saidlongitudinal bore of the boring bar, a spiral auger flight attached tothe lower end of said rod, a polygonal collar concentrically fixed onsaid anchor rod above said auger flight, and a polygonal socket in thelower end of said sleeve conforming to said collar and removably engagedthereover for separation upon upward movement relative to the collarwhereby the anchor may be bored into the ground and left in position bywithdrawal of the sleeve and boring bar from the screw anchor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS134,305 North Dec. 24, 1872 292,129 Moore Jan. 15, 1884 393,895 GentryDec. 4, 1888 770,376 Lewis Sept. 20, 1904 810,807 Pitcher Jan. 23, 1906863,508 Clark Aug. 13, 1907 881,280 Andersen et a1. Mar. 10, 19081,507,776 Humiston Sept. 9, 1924 1,602,375 Gibson Oct. 5, 1926 1,831,956Harrington Nov. 17, 1931 1,981,475 Smith Nov. 20, 1934 2,214,370 HasslerSept. 10, 1940 2,416,036 Zimmerlein et a1. Feb. 18, 1947 2,569,528Kandle Oct. 2, 1951 2,666,621 Hunt Jan. 19, 1954 2,673,717 Bacon Mar.30, 1954

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A HOLE BORING MACHINE COMPRISING A BORING HEAD, A GUIDE MEMBER EXTENDING FROM THE BORING HEAD, AND A BORING BAR OPERABLE IN THE GUIDE MEMBER AND PROJECTING FROM THE HEAD DURING ITS BORING OPERATION, A SCREW ANCHOR ADAPTER COMPRISING A SLEEVE RIGIDLY CONNECTED TO THE BORING BAR IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH, AND MEANS ON THE SLEEVE RELEASABLY LOCKING A SCREW ANCHOR THERETO FOR ROTATING SAID SCREW ANCHOR UNTIL IT IS IN ANCHORED POSITION AND THEN ENABLING DISENGAGEMENT OF THE ANCHOR FROM THE ADAPTER, SAID MEANS ON THE ADAPTER FOR CONNECTION WITH THE SCREW ANCHOR INCLUDING A POLYGONAL SOCKET FOR RECEIVING A POLYGONAL PROJECTION ON THE ANCHOR, AND SPRING URGED FINGERS CARRIED BY THE SLEEVE ENGAGING THE ANCHOR FOR FRICTIONALLY RETAINING THE ANCHOR CONNECTED WITH THE ADAPTER, SAID BORING HEAD INCLUDING A BORING BAR CLEANING BRUSH ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF THE BORING BAR DURING THE ROTATION AND LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREOF, SAID BORING HEAD ALSO INCLUDING AN OILING AND WIPING DISK OF FELT MATERIAL ENGAGING THE PERIPHERY OF THE BORING BAR DURING ROTATION AND LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREOF, SAID OILING DISK BEING DISPOSED BETWEEN THE CLEANING BRUSH AND THE BORING HEAD FOR ENGAGING THE BORING BAR AFTER THE BORING BAR HAS BEEN CLEANED BY THE BRUSH DURING THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID BORING BAR. 